With roughly half-a-million units being produced over its 16-years in production, Yamaha’s XS650 has been turned into all manner of custom moto build, from cafe racers to trackers to bobbers to scramblers, and practically everything in between. Yet, we still couldn’t help but be a bit taken aback by one of the latest works from Balinese bespoke bike outfit, Backyard Customs: an XS650 that’s been transformed into something of a retro desert sled, albeit with a bit of a tropical twist.
The stock seat’s been replaced by a bespoke red leather unit with vertical stitching and a matching ISDT-style rear-fender pad. The same deep red color also adorns the build’s fork boots and grips. The instrumentation now consists of a single analog Smiths speedometer, furthering the retro desert racer vibe. There’s also hand-worked side covers and fenders set in bespoke brackets, an asymmetrical dual-size circular headlight arrangement (also in bespoke brackets), and custom “BCKYRD” badges on the tank, exhaust heat shield, and seat. The Japanese twin has been hit with polished covers, velocity stacks, and a full custom scrambler-style dual-pipe exhaust decorated in hole-punched heat-shields. To view more of Backyard Customs’ work, you can check out its Facebook page below.
